RADO : True Open Heart

In 2016 Rado have introduced two rather attractive limited edition pieces to their True collection, their collection family that is focused on watches that are light and streamlined.

With a limitation of five hundred pieces for each, meet the True Open Heart in matte black or polished ceramic, utilising Rado’s signature monobloc case in a 40mm size. Nearly five times harder than steel, Rado’s high-tech ceramic has been highly successful for them, and these will no doubt continue this streak.

Of the Baselworld 2016 releases that I saw from Rado in Sydney this is hands-down my favourite because of its key feature – the dial. The ‘open heart’ of the name refers to the visibility of the movement, which is ‘cut out’. This detail can be seen to full effect under the very thin (0.2mm) mother-of-pearl layer (which itself is fixed on a 0.4mm piece of brass) when the light falls on it at the right angle for both models but particularly the black version. It is a very discreet MOP dial (which I find appealing), and as similarly with the Moritz Grossman mesh dial watch that I wrote about a little while ago, it is the play of light, the shimmer of the MOP and how it reveals what’s underneath, that is a key part of the appeal of this good looking watch. It’s about the use of mother-of-pearl but even more, it’s about how they’ve decided to use it.

The black model comes with black mother-of-pearl dial coupled with black applied indexes and hands, while the white model is made with white mother-of-pearl, white indexes and hands. For someone who tends towards a preference for black watches, I am not unexpectedly more drawn to this colour, but they are both attractive pieces.

Inside is the automatic Calibre ETA C07.631, with 80 hours of power reserve.

The Thinline Ceramic True Open Heart has an Australian RRP of $3,050 for the black model and $2,900 for the white.